Phaidon "Mapplethorpe Flora: The Complete Flowers" Book

The definitive collection of Robert Mapplethorpe’s flower photographs in a sophisticated new edition Robert Mapplethorpe is one of the twentieth century’s most important artists, known for his ground-breaking and provocative work. He studied painting, drawing, and sculpture in Brooklyn in the 1960s and started taking photographs when he acquired a Polaroid camera, in 1970. Beginning in 1973 and until his death in 1989, Mapplethorpe explored the flower with extraordinary dedication, using a range of photographic processes – from Polaroids to dye-transfer color works. In carefully constructed compositions, he captured roses, orchids, snapdragons, daisies, tulips and other species – both common and rare – and forever transformed the way we perceive a classic and familiar subject. The result – a stunning body of work – is collected in this elegant book, with a foreword by Mapplethorpe’s close friend Dimitri Levas and an introduction by Herbert Muschamp. Specifications: Format: Hardback Size: 308 × 292 mm (12 1/8 × 11 1/2 in) Pages: 368 pp Illustrations: 200 illustrations ISBN: 9781838668211